Commercial and subsidised services
All local bus services are bound by certain regulations. For example, the operator must hold the relevant licences and register the service with the Traffic Commissioner 56 days prior to the start of the service.
There are subtle differences between services operated entirely commercially and those subsidised by a local authority.
Commercially operated services may operate on any route, to any timetable, and the operator may charge any fare. They must not receive any local authority funding.
Subsidised services may only operate where there is a passenger need for a bus service that is not met by the commercial market. If this is demonstrable, and if the local authority has sufficient funds, it may enter into a contract with a commercial operator to provide a service.
The local authority uses a process called competitive tendering to decide upon the operator.
The European Framework
Shropshire Council's European Framework (EF) is a European Union (EU) requirement relating to the tender process used to procure transport.
Bus, coach and taxi operators throughout the EU are invited to tender to become part of the EF, which enables them to then tender for transport contracts. Generally, Shropshire Council only uses operators who have been accepted onto the EF to provide transport. The EF enables the council to streamline the tendering process as well as providing a level of quality assurance, and runs for four years.
The tender process for applications for the new EF closed on 10 September 2010.
The new EF will run from 31 October 2010 for a maximum of 4 years until 30 October 2014. Operators are currently unable to join the EF during this period. However they may express an interest, via email or in writing to the contact details below, and will be contacted when the EF is once again available for tender.
Tendering process
Operators registered on the framework will receive a list of contracts available for tender via the council's on-line tendering portal (etopia).
Attached to this page are the results of the local bus tendering process.
Driver, escort and vehicle registration
It is a requirement for transport operators to appropriately register and obtain authorisation from the council for any driver, passenger assistant or vehicle used on the council's transport services.
Please find attached to this page registration forms for drivers, escorts and vehicles. Please note you will need Adobe Reader V8, or a later version, to complete the forms on-screen. Otherwise, you can print them out. You can update your Adobe Reader by following the link on this page (new window opens).
Code of conduct
Attached to this page is the ‘code of conduct for operators sept 11 v3’ which applies to operators, drivers and passenger assistants who provide transport on behalf of Shropshire Council. All drivers and escorts must be fully aware of this code, as well as all relevant legal requirements. They must also be aware of how to use the equipment in their vehicle in the event of an emergency.
Operators should give the safety of passengers and other road users the highest priority at all times.